Baseball teams have fun, cool mascots. For example, in Harrisburg we have Rascal, a river monster from the Susquehanna River.
We took this selfie in August 2015 when the Washington Nationals’ Racing Presidents were in town.
Big eyes, cream colored face, a wide smile, fur–Rascal is a friendly river monster.
Tuesday of last week was the Harrisburg Senators’ home opener. It was bitterly cold–40 at game time, with a wind chill around freezing. I said on Facebook this wasn’t my first Opening Day in winter coat, scarf, and gloves.
And Rascal was… different.
Rascal’s face had changed!
It was yellow! It was thinner! That wide, friendly smile was not so wide, and its smile felt more… forced.
And the furry forehead! Rascal — the real Rascal — has no forehead!
What was this creature, this False Rascal? Is he Rascal–or fiend from Hell?
Sorry, Ra’s al-Ghul.
The Senators lost to the Richmond Flying Squirrels opening day. I did not stay for the entire game. It was just too damn cold, and I had to work in the morning.
I was back on City Island today. And which Rascal would I see?
Why, it’s the Real Rascal! Wide smile! Cream face! No appreciable forehead!
The Senators won Sunday’s game, with the Squirrels and the Senators trading the lead several times. The Senators took a two run lead into the ninth, the Flying Squirrels loaded the bases with one out, and a double play ended the game.
The False Rascal was, I think, using a costume head from the “Rascal and His Junior Rascals” bit of between-innings fun where Rascal leads a couple of children, wearing Rascal costumes, onto the field and they do hijincky things for a minute and a half. The Junior Rascal costumes sorta look like Rascal, but they’re a bit more yellow.
So, the False Rascal may have been wearing a larger-sized Junior Rascal head.
Either that, or there’s a dimensional corridor to a Mirror Universe on City Island and we should call the False Rascal “Lazarus.”